M
idge Ure is celebrating his
past with new compilation
Sound t rac k 1978 -2019, the fi rst
to encompass The Rich Kids
through Visage and Ultravox to his solo
years. He’s also touring both the albums he
released in 1980 – Visage’s debut and the
fi rst record he made with Ultravox. But is all
this activity a delaying tactic to stop Midge
having to make new music? It just might be...What made you decide to celebrate
your 1980 albums with a tour?
Every time I perform at an 80s festival,
people say, “Fuck me, I had no idea you
could still do that!” I’d lost contact with a lot of
my audience, as they don’t go to the smaller
town hall-type venues I play. You sometimes
have to remind people what you’ve done, to
get them onside for what you’re currently
doing. This is me going, “Hello! I’m still here
and I can still do it!” People have a
composite image of what you are, and mine
is the guy with the ponytail, the moustache
and the long raincoat. I’m aware that, to most
people, all I ever did was Vienna. There’s a
lot more to it, and I wanted to show that by
celebrating the year when I broke through
the invisible barrier – fi nding an ability to
experiment and reaching somewhere beyond
what had been going on.How has it felt to revisit those songs
39 years later?
It’s interesting hearing material I’ve never
performed before. Apart from Fade To Grey,
I’ve never played any of the Visage songs, as
we were a studio band. Some of them have
aged well. I didn’t remember Mind Of A Toyas being particularly good, but it’s a great
example of what Visage was trying to do –
get together with some of our favourite
musicians and see what happens. Some other
songs were cobbled together. You can tell it
was a nightmare getting us in the studio
together, as those songs are padded out a bit.Will you still play those songs, for
that completist “An album in full”
mood for the audience?
I’d initially intended to do that. The truth is,
I hadn’t listened to Visage since we made it.
When I did, I couldn’t play some songs, as
I’d have felt silly. Malpaso Man and Moon
Over Moscow are slightly tongue-in-cheek,
very infl uenced by Yellow Magic Orchestra.
If I was cringing on stage at what I’m
playing, it’d be cabaret. Visage and Vienna
mark a very major period of my life, and
I want to do right by them. Instead, I’ve
reassessed other Visage songs like our cover
of In The Year 2525, which was the original
thumbnail sketch we did as a demo of what
Visage could be. Vienna is easier. It’s an
audio version of Blade Runner at times. I think
that’s because it’s not wholly electronic or
wholly acoustic; it mixes them together to
create an atmosphere.As well as the tour, the new
compilation Soundtrack 1978-2019 is
the fi rst to celebrate all your work.
How did it feel seeing it all on the
same album?
It’s not quite all my work, as some people
have ranted about Slik not being on there.
But I didn’t feel I contributed anything to Slik,
as I wasn’t even allowed to play on the bighits. Gary Kemp told me a few years ago
that The Rich Kids was the bridge between
punk and electronic. He saw us in 1978,
when I’d brought a synthesiser into the band.
That was interesting, as I was trying to do
what eventually happened in Ultravox,
incorporate technology with traditional
instruments. So Marching Men felt a perfect
starting point. I’m really pleased that the
compilation isn’t just the hits. If I was dead,
this would be the album to represent me. But
I’m not dead, so I get to enjoy how much of a
quality piece of work I think it is!When Classic Pop reviewed
Soundtrack 1978-2019, we said you
don’t make enough music, but when
you do it’s usually worth the wait...
Ha ha, I’ll take that! There are long gaps...
I’m aware my last album Fragile w a s fi v e
years ago. If I’m honest, it’s painful to try to
create new music when you’ve got a huge
body of work. You don’t want to retrace your
footsteps from all those years ago and repeat
what you’ve done, but you also don’t want to
go off on a tangent and do something so
radically different that you’re not comfortable
with it. It’s always a bit of a grind.How are the new songs you’re
making shaping up?
On stage, fi rst and foremost I play guitar.
But when I do that in the studio, it sounds a
bit heavy metal. I alter that with electronics,
and what I’ve been doing is twiddling knobs
and using much more electronics. I’m
dabbling with new technology that sounds
like technology. That’s not to say it won’t
all change!MIDGE URE
JOHN EARLS TALKS TO MIDGE URE ABOUT A NEW BOXSET THAT
COVERS THE FORMER ULTRAVOX FRONTMAN’S ENTIRE CAREER
OMidge Ure’s 1980 Tour runs until February. Soundtrack 1978-2019 is out now on Chrysalis Records.